I had an excellent condition Japanese Wakizashi from the Edo Period, around 1620. It was a gorgeous piece which I eventually sold to a collector in Switzerland.

I also had a VERY rare item, which was a WW2 German Luftwaffe Officer's Sword that was owned by Hauptmann(Captain) Joachim Brendel. The scabbard was engraved with his name, rank, and unit when he was presented the sword, and he was "Oberleutnant" at that time.Brendel is the 18th highest ranking fighter pilot ace in history He had 189 kills on the Eastern Front, and achieved the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, which was the 2nd Highest Award in the 3rd Reich.I got $6k for that sword, but it was probably nearly priceless, since it was a one of a kind with engraved provenance of being his.

Never collected swords..now WW1/WW2 army rifles, cap and ball black powder pistols. Got a couple few of those. I came back from Korea with a decent katana, didn't keep it gave it to family. I can admire it on occasion. But it definitely takes guts to take on someone with a sword. Will.